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Community college · Public

Highline College

Des Moines, WA1,609 online only

Highline College is a public community college in Des Moines, WA, with about 3,517 students on campus and 1,609 more studying only online.

Visit www.highline.edu ↗Directions
Students on campus
3,517
plus 1,609 studying only online
Admission rate
Open
open enrollment
Net price a year
$9,879
tuition and fees $4,772; the net price adds housing and food
Graduation rate
35%
Earnings, 10 yrs later
$47,869
higher than at 67% of U.S. colleges
Getting in

How hard is it to get into Highline College?

Open

anyone with a high school diploma can enroll

Test scores of admitted students

No SAT or ACT ranges reported. Highline College is likely test-optional.

What it costs

The sticker price, and what families really pay

Sticker price: $18,812 a year

Before any grants · out-of-state tuition $5,332

Tuition & fees (in state) $4,772Room & board $15,228Books & supplies $528

After grants, the average family on aid pays $9,879.

Tuition and fees are $4,772 a year. The net price also counts housing, food and other costs at full price, so a student living at home pays less than it shows.

Your family’s price

Average net price after grants, by family income

$11,209

About $22,418 over 2 years · 40% off the sticker price

Under $30k$30–48k$48–75k$75–110kOver $110k
Outcomes

Do students finish, and does it pay off?

Graduate
35%
within 1½ times the normal program length
Come back for year two
—
full-time first-year students
Earnings, 10 years later
$47,869
median, students on federal aid
Typical debt
$9,500
about $101 a month over 10 years

Debt vs. the paycheck

The typical loan payment as a share of a typical graduate’s monthly pay six years after starting

2.9%
0%10%: a common comfort line25%

$101 a month against about $3,527 a month in pay.

Paying back loans

Federal student loans, this college

35%

of borrowers paid down at least some of their loan within three years, more than at 29% of U.S. colleges.

Almost none defaulted within three years (payments on federal loans were paused from 2020 to 2023, so recent default rates are near zero everywhere).

Earnings by family background

Median earnings 10 years after starting, by family income at enrollment

Lower incomeunder $30k
$45k
Middle income$30–75k
$54k
Higher incomeover $75k
$48k
Majors

What students study, and what it pays

Share of degrees by field

Liberal arts 38%Health professions 21%Education 14%Business 11%Computer science 5%Biology 3%Everything else 8%

Bachelor’s programs with the most graduates

And their graduates’ median earnings four years later (one year where that’s all that’s reported).

Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management29 graduates a year
—not reported
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services17 graduates a year
—not reported
Social Work11 graduates a year
—not reported
International Business11 graduates a year
—not reported
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods8 graduates a year
—not reported
Design and Applied Arts8 graduates a year
—not reported
Who goes there

The students

3,838 degree-seeking undergraduates.

By race and ethnicity

White 15%Hispanic 20%Black 17%Asian 15%Two or more 7%International 7%

Women and men

Women 65%Men 35%
13 : 1
students per teacher
19%
get Pell grants (lower income)
2%
take federal loans
32%
undergrads 25 or older
48%
study part time
The town around it

Living in Des Moines

5% of Des Moines’s 33,032 residents are enrolled in college. What the town is like, from TownRatings’ Des Moines pages.

Des Moines →
$1,799/momedian rent · about the state median$592Ktypical home valueC−Safety Grade36° / 77°January low / July high · 6" of snowA−Health GradeAll colleges in and near Des MoinesCompare prices, admissions and outcomes
Nearby

Other colleges within 30 miles

Straight-line distances from Highline College; colleges with 100 or more students on campus.

Green River CollegeUniversity or college · Public · Auburn
7.9 mi4,707 students
Renton Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · Renton
9.2 mi2,398 students
South Seattle CollegeCommunity college · Public · Seattle
11.2 mi4,519 students
Northwest College of Art & DesignUniversity or college · For-profit · Tacoma
11.3 mi150 students
Bates Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · Tacoma
11.6 mi3,299 students
University of Washington-Tacoma CampusUniversity or college · Public · Tacoma
11.8 mi4,497 students
University of Puget SoundUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Tacoma
11.9 mi1,914 students
Faith International UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Tacoma
12.5 mi208 students

Ask around

Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (institution and field-of-study files) and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023); town figures from the Census American Community Survey and NOAA climate normals. Graduation rates count first-time, full-time students; earnings and debt are for students who received federal aid. Distances are straight-line. Colleges are described, not graded (how TownRatings describes colleges). Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.